His Mermaid, Her Commander
by Mary Sinclair
Summary: She's new to town, and not your typical girl...
1. Chapter 1

He noticed her as she walked past the window he was sitting by. She wasn't your run of the mill tourist; she was so pale, like she had been hiding from the sun for most of her life. She hadn't slapped on a fake tan to hide her paleness and embrace the holiday vibes like most girls did in order to fake their tan until they got enough sun to have a natural one. Her hair was unnaturally straight, as if she had taken the time to straighten it that morning, then had run her fingers through it to try tame it from the ocean breeze. And with her sunglasses on, she only looked to be in her teens, despite her collection of tattoos on display. He watched her over the rim of his coffee cup, taking a sip as she stopped and swung her bag to rest on the back of a bench as she opened it and took a bottle of water out of her bag.  
Steve put his cup down as she skilfully closed her bag one handed and swung it back onto her shoulder. The idea that she was asking to have her bag stolen with it just hanging by one shoulder strap crossed his mind, and he was half tempted to follow her to make sure she got where ever she was going safely. She looked so small and so young… and there was just something about her. He looked away quickly as she looked over her shoulder in his direction, and missed the half smile, half smirk that curved her lips, tilting her sunglasses down slightly so she could see over the rims. With a short sigh of amusement, she pushed her sunglasses back up and kept walking down the road, the ghost of the half smile half smirk on her lips.

Steve was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the all too familiar footsteps of city shoes. He looked in the direction his partner was coming from, and smiled slightly.  
"How'd it go with Grace?" He asked, noticing Danny looked more worn out than usual.  
"My daughter, the girl I love very, very much, will be house bound for the rest of her life if she carries on like this." Danny said, sitting down and getting comfortable in his seat. Steve looked over to the counter and slightly raised his hand to indicate to one of the waitresses that they wanted to order something.  
"That bad? Well, then coffee is on me." Steve said, leaning back in his chair. Danny's expression turned to shock.  
"Hold the phone! Is Steve McGarrett really footing the bill? Are you feeling well? Do you need to see a doctor?" Danny's over exaggerated reaction made Steve laugh.  
"Hey, I'm just trying to cut you a break. I'm in a good mood, don't spoil it." Steve chuckled. Danny shook his head.  
"Oh really, back in the saddle so soon?" Danny looked at his partner for a minute before looking at the waitress that had come over to take his order. "One coffee, please. Thank you." Steve picked his cup up quickly.  
"Could you make that two, please?" He asked, looking at the waitress too. She smiled at him, nodding.  
"Coming right up." She said, smiling at them both before she walked away. Steve downed the last few sips of coffee.  
"So, who is the lucky lady?" Danny asked, grinning. Steve chuckled and shook his head.  
"There is no lady. There's no one. Just feeling good today." He said, pushing his now empty cup to the side. Danny chuckled and shook his head.  
"If you say so. But when you're ready to spill, I'll listen." He laughed. Steve sighed in mock annoyance, but couldn't help but think, maybe his sudden mood change had been brought on by a girl. One he hadn't even spoken to.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't long after Dany had finished his first cup of coffee before Steve got a call from Duke. Danny didn't have to be told twice that they had caught a case and needed to move that minute. He hadn't brought anything with him, so he was the first one to leave the booth. Steve hung up and took seconds to take his wallet out and drop enough money on the table to pay for their coffees and a tip before he was heading out the door with Danny to the crime scene. They left in their own vehicles, and Steve was a little thankful that he didn't have to listen to Danny's constant complaining about his driving, or Danny questioning his parenting skills because he had to ground Grace.

All thoughts of the shared car rides were pushed aside when he pulled up next to Danny and got out. Duke was already walking over to them to give them a run down on what had happened when the police had arrived.  
"Detective, Commander. You're not going to like what we have here. It's sick. Some sort of ritual killing." Duke said, leading the two men to the crime scene. Danny sent a confused glance at Steve, who looked a bit confused himself.

"What do you mean a ritual killing?" Steve asked, the only knowledge of ritual killings being that there were different types, but beyond that, he was clueless.  
"See for yourself. But just know, it isn't pretty." Duke said, gesturing for the men to go into the tent that had been set up just moments before Danny and Steve had arrived. And stepping into the tent was like Steve and gone back in time. He may as well have been back in military uniform, standing next to a Royal Marine who was swearing under his breath and announcing that they needed every little detail about the scene. And just as well that memory had flashed into his mind.  
"Duke, tell them I need every detail sent to me. From the type of plants burnt around the body, the wax of the candles to the marks on the body. I need everything. In the meantime, Danny, keep me informed on what happens here." Steve said, taking his phone out and getting a few pictures of the body and the scene on his phone.

"Wait, wait, you sound like you've seen this before. Have you? Hey, where are you going?" Danny sounded slightly irritated, but more concerned about Steve's sudden decision to leave. Steve was by the entrance of the tent when he turned.  
"Yes I have, and I'm going to talk to a guy who could help us." That was all he said before he left the tent, typing in a number on his phone before he got in his truck and left the crime scene, heading back to the office.

"Yes, this is Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. I need to speak to Patrick O'keefe."  
"Commander, Lieutenant Colonel O'keefe is currently taking time off."  
"Did he leave a means to contact him? This is urgent."  
"One moment, I will get it for you."

She was waiting at the airport, looking through the hordes of people for the one familiar face. Her mind wondered back to the guy sitting in the coffee shop that she had caught staring at her, and the small smile returned to her lips. She wondered what he was doing there, what he did for a living that let him spend Monday mornings in a coffee shop. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt someone staring at her, so turned to see who it was this time. A young security guard looked slightly startled and ashamed to be caught staring at her, but she just smiled at him, tempted to give him a little wave, but thought better of it. As she looked back to the crowds of people going past her, she spotted the person she was waiting for and practically skipped to them.  
"Daddy!" She put her arms around the man that simply returned her hug, placing a kiss on her head as he did so.  
"There's my beautiful girl!" He laughed, tightening his hold of her and getting a giggle in return. They let go of each other, grinning at each other.  
"How was your flight?" She asked, looking at his bags and smirking slightly. She should have know he would have brought two bags; one for the cabin and another that most likely had all his clothes in it.  
"Peaceful for what I'm used to. Now let's go get some food, I'm starving and need coffee." Her dad said, putting his arm around her as they walked out the airport and to the car she had parked outside.  
After putting his bags in the trunk, he went to get in the passenger side. He looked up at his daughter as she laughed at him.  
"Glad to see you remembered what side." She giggled. Just as she finished speaking, her phone started to ring, taking her attention away from her chuckling father. She frowned when she didn't know the number, but answered any way, moving to get into the car.  
"Hello?" She said opening the car and getting in the driver's seat. She closed the door gently.  
"This is Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. I need to speak to Lieutenant Colonel O'keefe please." The voice on the other end of the call sounded military, which she wasn't surprised about, but the American accent confused her.  
"Sure, hold on." She took the phone away from her ear and covered the mic with her hand. "Dad, there's a McGarrett looking to talk to you." She said, holding the phone closer to her father.  
"McGarrett? That's a name I haven't heard for a while." He said, taking the phone from his daughter. She shrugged, tempted to throw in a comment about it being her number he called on, but figured it wasn't the time; the call must have been important.  
"McGarrett! How you doing?" Her dad seemed happy enough to talk to the guy, so she tuned the call out.  
"I see, I'll get dropped off to come and have a for contacting me about this. Alright, see you there." Her father's tone made her glance at him, a little worried.  
"Everything okay, dad?" She asked, pulling up to a red light. He sighed, giving her a hint that there was a change in their plans.  
"That was a man I worked with a long time ago. Something's come up and I need you to drop me at the Honolulu Police department. The palace rather. We'll get coffee later today, I promise." He said, smiling at his daughter, noticing that she was masking her disappointment.  
"Sure, I can drop you there and take your stuff back. Do you want me to pick you up after?" She asked, putting her foot on the accelerator when the lights changed.  
"Sure, and then we can catch up." He said, knowing that if he commented on her pretending to be okay, she wouldn't be amused.

After being dropped off at the station and being taken up to see McGarrett, Lieutenant Colonel walked through the doors and was greeted by Steve, who looked under pressure.  
"So, Lieutenant Colonel now? Congrats on the promotion!" Steve shook his old friend's hand, the greeting all full of smiles.  
"Thank you. No one was more pleased than my daughter. She's just happy I'm not out of the line of fire. Although she probably causes more trouble than I did." The Lieutenant Colonel laughed. Steve chuckled for a moment as they walked up to the work surface.  
"Paddy, I'm so sorry to butt in on your leave, but I figured you might want to know this..." Steve's jaw flexed slightly, looking at his friend with a serious expression.  
"Well, come on, what is it that's got you all hot and bothered and convinced that son of a bitch is kicking about your island?" Paddy asked, noticing Steve's posture.  
"We got called to a crime scene today. One that might take you down memory lane. Steve pulled up the photos he had taken at the scene and looked at Paddy as the older man took in the pictures.  
"Shit..." Paddy muttered under his breath. Steve knew he had been right to call him then.  
"I was hoping you could use your contact to help us find this contractor again. And this time catch him." Steve said, leaning against the table. Paddy sighed, nodding.  
"I can, but it means telling her about that mission in Africa, all the details. And she'll have to come in." Paddy said, not looking forward to what was going to follow.


	3. Chapter 3

Shavonne watched as people went past the coffee shop she was standing in. She didn't want it to show, but she was a little disappointed that her father had only just arrived and was already doing something that was most likely related to his work. And she had promised that she wasn't going to let it show, but would indulge in a little comfort drink to sulk into whilst he was away to not see her pout like a child.  
"Chai latte to go!" The guy at the counter called out, bringing her back to reality. She smiled at him in gratitude as she took the drink from him.  
"Thank you." Was all she said as she went to add some sugar to the drink, just to sate her sweet tooth, and left the coffee shop. She walked down the road, just to walk out her frustration and enjoy the sun. It felt like a typical day in Hawaii for her; just a day of walking around the new place, getting a feel for it and enjoying the free time she had. To think she had been here for a month, it was crazy to think how quickly she had settled. But then again, that was the point of her previous travels around the world; to find home. Sure, she had lived in the UK for most of her life, but it never felt like home. She took a sip of the cinnamon drink, sighing in delight as she looked out in the direction of the sea. She debated going to the beach, but decided against it as she knew she would cave to the call of the waves and just dive in. Taking a corner, she headed back to where she had parked, deciding she could go home for a bit and wait for her dad to either call her or get dropped off.

And as if the word had known she was thinking about her dad calling her, the phone in her bag started buzzing. She frowned a little, the weirdness of the coincidence not lost on her, and awkwardly retrieved her phone from her bag. She checked the ID before answering, only to see it was the same number that had called her when she was with her dad.  
"Hello?" She said, half expecting her dad to tell her he needed to be picked up.  
"Hey sweetie. Can you swing by the station? I need to talk to you about something. It's pretty urgent." Her dad sounded stressed, but also like he was trying to cover it up. She quickened her steps, knowing that tone all too well.  
"I'm on my way. Any hints as to what I should expect?" She asked, gulping down her drink in a not very lady like manner.  
"It might be Africa all over again." Was all her dad said, and she could almost hear his brows furrow and mouth set. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting out an annoyed sigh.  
"On my way. Do I ask for you?" She asked, seeing her car just a head of her.  
"Ask to see Commander McGarrett." Her dad told her. She nodded.  
"Got it, Commander McGarrett. I'll be there now." She said before hanging up. Shavonne finished the rest of her chai latte in the time it took for her to get to her car, dumping the empty cup in a bin as she walked past it. She got her car keys out her bag, got in and left for the station where she had just dropped her dad off.

The very modern layout of the offices she had been led to was not lost on her. The blue and grey colour scheme felt a little cold, but the sun streaming through the windows made it seem warmer. She thanked the officer that had shown her the way up to the offices, giving him a friendly smile, which he returned, holding the door open for her.  
"Shavonne, you made it." Her dad was the first person to turn and walk up to her, leading her to the group of people already standing around a table. She smiled and nodded, picking up the tense vibe in the office she had just walked into.  
"Miss O'keefe, I believe you know what and who we're dealing with. I'm Commander Steve McGarrett." A tall, dark haired man offered her a hand to shake. She took it and gave him a nod, hoping he didn't notice her trying to hide a smirk. He was the guy from the coffee shop, the one she had felt staring at her and didn't mind. And from the look in his eyes, he knew he had been starting at her earlier that day.  
"Yeah, dad said something about a possible occult killing." Shavonne said, not wanting to give away too much. Last time she helped out with providing information on an occult killing, which was something her father had asked her to help with when he was in Africa, the authorities weren't too happy about having her around.  
"Steve was in Africa with me. He knows you helped give info." Paddy said, nodding to his daughter as if giving her permission.  
"I see. Well, I mean, sure, it could be similar to what happened in Africa, but it could also be a coincidence." She offered, shrugging a little. Steve nodded, understanding her view.  
"I had forensics take details of the scene. If you want to have a look at those, to help you determine what happened, you're more than welcome." Steve said, gesturing to the main computer in the room. Shavonne looked at her dad, who simply nodded.  
"Sure." She said, moving over to the main computer. She looked at the list, comparing it to the photos. Steve watched her as she bit her lip and her brows furrowed slightly in concentration. Silence took over the room for a few minutes before it was broken by a woman walking in.  
"Hey boss, I just got the ME's report. They've just started autopsy..." The woman stopped when she noticed the two visitors in the room. Steve shifted his gaze from Shavonne to the woman.  
"Kono, this is Paddy o'Keefe and his daughter Shavonne. They're helping on the case." Steve said, as if to give Kono permission to share the information that she had brought in. Kono smiled.  
"Hi, I'm Kono Kalakaua." she smiled, offering her hand to Paddy, then Shavonne. "So, they haven't started the autopsy yet, but they did have some unusual findings about how this guy was killed. Shavonne looked up from the list.  
"Wait, did this guy die three times?" She asked, looking at Kono.  
"Not quiet. Cause of death was strangulation, but he was also poisoned and had blunt force trauma to the head which could have been fatal had he not already been dead." Kono explained, a little confused as to how Shavonne had guessed it.  
"Ah crap. This guy wasn't a victim. He was a sacrifice." Shavonne stated, the dread in her voice evident to everyone. Steve looked at Paddy, remembering the same thing happening when they had worked together.  
"Could this be the same thing as Africa?" Paddy asked gently. Shavonne nodded.  
"There are a lot of similarities, so it is possible, but I can't say for sure. I mean, both did have the lack of sage used both times, so that could either be confirmation that it is, or just a freaky coincidence." She offered, looking between her father and Steve.  
"Thank you. Any information about this would help us a lot." Steve said, looking between Shavonne and her father. "Just thank God you were here." He said, looking at Paddy.

"Well, thank Shavonne for that. She convinced me to come to Hawaii to visit her now that she's moved here." Paddy said, looking at his daughter who had gone back to looking at the notes taken at the scene, and comparing them to the pictures.  
"Ah. Hopefully we can get an ID on this guy so we don't need to interrupt your plans anymore." Steve said, feeling a little awkward at having disrupted his friend's plans to spend time with his daughter. But at the same time, meeting Shavonne sent a thrill through Steve, like a guilty pleasure as he wondered if she had known that it was only hours ago that he had watched her walk down the road.  
"No worries. Honestly, she wouldn't rest until this is case closed. She gets like that." Paddy said, watching his daughter at work, although it looked like she was just staring at a screen, but realistically she was carefully studying the scene, looking for the smallest of details that could help the investigation. Steve was fascinated by watching her work; she was just leaning over a work surface, but the intensity in her expression showed that there was so much thought behind her actions.

It was only a few hours later that Shavonne and Paddy left the station. During their time at the police station, they had met the rest of the team, and Shavonne was relieved to know that this time around, there wasn't a mountain of paperwork to sign in order to allow her to help out when she could. Just a simple document saying that she accepted that she may be putting herself at risk by working with the team, which Danny had taken the chance to make a joke about Steve's driving, and that she would keep quiet about the details of the case. It all made sense to her, so she signed it all. Paddy had the same document to sign, which he did, and now they were on their way home.  
"I have to admit, Im impressed with your driving over here." Paddy said, looking out the window, watching cars go by. Shavonne giggled, knowing what he was talking about.  
"Yeah, took a bit of time, but I finally learnt how to drive on the right side of the road." She giggled, making her father sigh in mock disgrace.  
"They don't drive on the right side of the road." He said in mock frustration.  
"Well, they certainly don't drive on the left." Shavonne said, giggling even more. Paddy chuckled, having had this 'argument' with her so many times before.  
"Alright smart arse. So, what's the plan for the rest of the day?" He asked, looking at his daughter.  
"I was thinking head back home, get your stuff out the car, and then just relax with a beer. We can get take out tonight, or i can cook if you want." She offered. Paddy thought for a moment.  
"Let's get a pizza delivered. Call it a make up for derailing any plans for today." Paddy said. Shavonne smiled, nodding in agreement.

Steve was packing up, ready to head home, when Danny walked up to him, grinning. Having seen that grin a million times before, he sighed.  
"Yes, Daniel?" Steve asked, bracing himself for what ever Danny was about to make fun of.  
"So, Miss o'Keefe?" Danny said, the grin still on his face. Steve rolled his eyes, putting his bag down as he now knew that this was not going to be a quick conversation.  
"What about her?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow. Danny chuckled.  
"'What about her' he asks? I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure you were eyeing her up." Danny grinned at Steve, as if he had just caught Steve in a trap.  
"She has some interesting tattoos. I was looking at them." Steve defended himself, not feeling like letting the thought he had buried come back up.  
"Oh, Okay. You were looking at her tattoos. Not looking at the shorts she was wearing, or the amount of leg she was showing, or her shoulders, or anything else! Just her tattoos?" Danny asked, not believing that Steve was denying the most obvious fact. Then again, Danny could understand why Steve would deny it; after Catherine, Steve didn't really handle women very well, which was evident from how his relationship with Lynn.  
"Yes, Danny. Just her tattoos." Steve sighed, rolling his eyes again. Danny chuckled.  
"Okay, well, I'm going to leave you in your puddle of denial. But if you want my advice; she seems to be tame enough to maybe at least go out for drinks with." Danny called over his shoulder as he walked away, smirking at the fact that his partner was denying something that he was sure pretty much everyone saw.  
Steve sighed, watching Danny leave. His partner had struck a cord within him. He stopped suppressing the thought and let it just wonder through his mind. She was a good looking girl, and the way she handled herself was fascinating; like she was comfortable with herself. And the way she looked at him was if she knew a secret of his already but was promising to keep it. And he was in trouble. He did not want to be the one to tell Paddy that he had checked out his daughter, not with how protective Paddy was of his daughter. Steve grabbed his stuff and left the office, only heading home to a night of little sleep and much tossing and turning.


	4. Chapter 4

It was lunch time on Tuesday before Shavonne and Paddy heard from Steve again. They were sitting outside, enjoying the sunshine and laughing about the antics Shavonne's sisters had gotten up to since she had left.  
"I still can't believe that they fell for your joke. What the hell did you tell them?" Paddy laughed, sipping the fizzy lemonade from his glass. Shavonne giggled, running her fingers through her hair.  
"I told them that fame wasn't all it was cracked up to be in the UK, so I was going to pull a Kim Kardashian." Shavonne's giggles returned with full force when she mentioned the throw away comment her sisters had fallen for. Paddy shook his head, grinning.  
"What exactly does that include, in their heads.?" He asked, baffled and amused at the same time.  
"Probably a sex tape. A few nude photos online. Who knows?" Shavonne leant back in her chair, her senses drinking in the air and sun around them. Paddy raised an eyebrow, half surprised.  
"Do they really think you could do that?" He chuckled, despite being surprised at what his daughter had just said. Shavonne shrugged, removing her sun glasses from the top of her head and placing them down to cover her eyes.  
"Apparently so." She smirked, amused at how little her sisters knew about her. "Then again, they don't exactly check in with me often. They probably don't know much about me anymore." She mused, taking a sip of her own drink. Paddy sighed, leaning back, his grin turning into an amused smile.  
"Well, as long as I don't catch any of my boys finding any of that from you online." He mentioned off handedly. Shavonne smirked at his comment.  
"Do I honestly seem the type?" She teased. "Besides, I'm happy with my own brand of recognition." She sighed happily, only to hear a phone ring to disrupt the time with her dad. Sitting up, she realised it wasn't her ring tone, so she picked up her own phone to give herself a distraction so that her dad could have some privacy.  
"Ah, Steve! How's it going?" Paddy said, leaning forward and putting his elbow on his knee.  
"I see. You want us to come along?" He asked, making Shavonne's ears prick up. She kept her eyes on her phone, but was more alert than she made it seem.  
"I'll bring her along. It could help to have her take on the scene." Paddy said.  
"Alright, meet you there." He hung up and looked at his daughter. Shavonne looked up from her phone, eyebrow raised.  
"We need to go meet Steve and the others at the Palace. They found another ritual site." Her father explained before he picked up his glass and finished the rest of it. Shavonne nodded, standing up and taking her own glass.  
"Oh, and get changed into something you can wear on a motorbike. This one is apparently very off the beaten track.  
"Got it." Shavonne said, walking into the house, taking a sip of her drink. She went up stairs to her room, closing the door behind her with her foot and putting the glass down on the chest of drawers. Digging out a pair of jeans, she changed into them, dumping her shorts on the bed and putting on a pair of boots. Quickly, she went downstairs to meet her dad by the car, both staying quiet as they left. 

"How did they find this place?" Shavonne asked, looking around the area they were now in. It would have been a great place for a hike as there had been no development what so ever. Even the road they had taken to get there had been rough. Steve was helping unload one of the motorbikes they were going to use.

"A pair of hunters called it in. Said that it had looked like a ritual site." Steve gave the motorbike a quick once over before looking at Shavonne. "Are you sure you can handle the ride there?" He asked, eyeing up how small she was in comparison to everyone else. She gave him an innocent smile.  
"I'm sure, thanks." Shavonne couldn't help but glance at her father, who was just smirking as he always did when people wondered what she was capable of.  
"She'll be fine. I swear she knows more bikers than the both of us." Paddy chuckled, watching his daughter get on the motorbike Steve had just taken down. Steve watched her for a moment before getting in the bike that had been taken out for himself. They only had to wait for Chin now.  
"If you need us to slow down or change path, we will." Steve said, still sounding wary of the idea of Shavonne on a bike by herself.  
"Thanks." Shavonne said, looking over Steve's shoulder to watch Chin get on his bike. As soon as the three of them were ready, Steve led the way to the site, Shavonne following him and Chin picking up the tail.

It was about ten minutes of ridding before they came to the site, which surprised Steve as he had expected at least another five minutes to be added onto the journey. Getting off their bikes, they moved over to the patch of grass that had been pushed down. It was the only patch that seemed out of order, so made sense for that to be the spot they were looking for. Shavonne gave the spot a quick once over, a small bout of relief hitting her as there was no dead body for her to see. She didn't want to bring attention to it, but this was the first crime scene she had been to, and she wasn't looking forward to seeing anymore. Not with the chilling feeling that seemed to cling to her bones. That's when it clicked in her mind.  
"Uh, I think we should get a search party out here." Shavonne said, turning around to scope the surrounding area. Steve had already taken his phone out to call back to the others.  
"Yeah, there's no body." He said before putting his phone to his ear and taking a few steps away from the site they had come across. Whilst he spoke to Danny to get a search party underway, Shavonne took a closer look at the ritual set up, hoping to find something to help the team. Chin had the same idea, but was checking the opposite side to her. Taking in the set up of the site, Shavonne noticed that it was a typical five point set up, just like the first scene. She wasn't sue which scene disturbed her more; the first one because the killer had carried out the ritual to be found and left the body there, or this one because it implied that the killer could have killed more people without them knowing it.  
"Danny, shut up and get that search going." Steve said, his voice raised ever so slightly. He hung up and put his phone away. "What do we have?" He asked, moving closer to the site.  
"It's a similar set up to the first site found. Five point set up which is standard for most pagan rituals. I think boot prints won't be an option because of the grass. Plus the hunters that found the site." Shavonne explained, kneeling down by one of the candles. Steve watched her as she examined the candle and the ground around it closely. He wanted to step forward to see what she was looking at, but didn't, just in case he stepped in the wrong place.  
"You find something?" Chin asked, noticing Shavonne's sudden silence. He had also noticed Steve's expression, but figured it wasn't the time or place to joke about his boss checking out a case consultant. Shavonne let out a hum of acknowledgement to his question, looking over her shoulder as if searching for something in the distance.  
"We should probably start the search in that direction." She said, standing up to look out over her assumed search direction. Steve and Chin glanced at each other for a moment before Steve went up to Shavonne.  
"Why?" He asked, following her gaze to look for the evidence she had found. Shavonne twigged onto the fact that Steve thought the evidence of her statement was out there, when really it was by their feet.  
"You see this candle? It's taller than the others, like it hasn't been lit as long. And around it, there's herbs tossed about like someone kicked them out of the pile they were in. I'm pretty sure it was our victim." She explained, pushing down a shiver as she tried to not imagine how horrible it would have been to find yourself a sacrifice in a ritual.

"Apart from the victim getting up and walking away, you'd say this was possibly the work of the same killer?" Steve asked, noticing Shavonne shifting and crossing her arms as if to hide hugging herself.  
"Yeah. Pretty sure, unless we have a copycat." She said, looking back over the site. He nodded.  
"Alright. Chin stay here for the search teams. Shavonne and I will head back to check hospitals." Steve said, walking back over to the bikes in such a way it seemed as if he expected Shavonne to follow.


	5. Chapter 5

The trip around hospitals had been fruitless, and Steve's frustration was starting to show by the time he and Shavonne got back to the office. Paddy was waiting for them, a cup of coffee in hand as he read over some paper work.  
"I don't get how someone can just disappear. Surely if the last victim was poisoned, so would this one. How would they be able to get up and just leave?" Steve half muttered as he went straight to the screens that held the evidence of the first murder.

"Perhaps the dosage was wrong?" Paddy asked, only glancing up from the paperwork he was looking at for a moment, then going back to it. Shavonne stayed silent, her gaze having followed Steve's to the screen, but she had focused on a different part of the evidence and crime pictures than he had. Her brow furrowed, and she took a step forward, tilting her head to the side as she focused one part of the screen, then another. As she compared the two parts of the screen, she frowned more, as if she had a disturbing idea. Paddy was the first to notice the change in his daughter, and the fact that she hadn't sniffed out that there was coffee available. He watched her, putting the papers down and leaning forward in his seat.  
"What is it?" Paddy asked, his tone soft and gentle, as if he was asking a child what their bad dream was about. Steve only then noticed that she had focused on something, and how much that something had made her tense up, as if her whole body was holding its breath.  
"I think I have an idea…" She muttered, still looking at the pictures on the screen. They were of the first victim; photos taken of the victim at the crime scene. Steve didn't want her looking at them as they were straight from a horror movie, but he also know that she had to see in order to help. He was just about to ask her to share her idea when she looked at him, sharply; a girl on a mission.  
"I need to speak to the Medical Examiner that is dealing with this case." Shavonne said, surprising Steve and luring her father to his feet.  
"I don't think that is the best of…" Steve stopped as he saw Paddy shake his head to stop Steve's protest.

"No, I need to ask him something!" The determination in her voice was an echo of the determination he had heard in her father before. And knowing her father, he would have done what he wanted, with or without blessing, and assumed his daughter would do the same.

"Come with me." Steve gave in, realising how alike father and daughter were. He could only be thankful that she hadn't followed in Paddy's footsteps; he would have pitied the training officers that would have had to deal with her if she had joined the forces. He led her and Paddy through to the M.E's office, hoping he wasn't in the middle of an autopsy.

Max was sitting at his desk, filling in a report on his computer when the trio walked in.  
"Ah, Commander McGarrett, I was just doing the final report on your occult murder victim. You have impeccable timing." Max said, looking to Steve first, then the two that had followed him.  
"Doctor Bergman? I'm Shavonne O'Keefe. I was hoping you could answer a few questions about the body on the case I'm helping on." Shavonne said, stepping out of Steve's shadow, and offering a hand to Max. He took the hand she offered, but looked vaguely startled that someone so small would dare step past Steve and take the lead from him.

"Uh… How can I be of assistance, Miss O'Keefe?" Max asked, glancing nervously at Steve, noticing the look of supressed surprise on the man's face.

"I need to know if the victim had any defensive markings or bruises from being tied up or restrained. Also, were there any needle marks? Like, possibly the poison was injected into the victim?" Shavonne asked, as if the questions had been building up in her head, and were finally falling past her lips in escape. Max raised his eyebrows at the fact that someone had taken over from Steve in such a casual manner, but answered her question all the same.  
"I was just noting that in my report. I found it peculiar that the victim indeed did not have any marks of restraint or defensive bruising." He said, in his usual tone. Shavonne bit her lip, thinking for a moment.

"That could prove that the victim sort of knew his killer…" She muttered. Steve clenched his jaw at this idea, as if grilling himself for not thinking of it before. Paddy sighed, running a hand through his hair.


End file.
